Tough Old Birds and Young Bucks

Recently I sent comments to a brother who is much younger than this old dude. My comments were in reference to another blog by the brother and since this AM I have had some additional thoughts.

Both in Proverbs and in I John there is an expression paraphrased this way, "young men are bold and old men are wise." Living with tough, old wise men is a little unsettling for the young guy who is boldly searching for truth and trying to curtail his own exuberance into a merciful and gracious presentation.

My horses continually respond to each other as horses. The dominant mare rules the roost. She lets all members of the herd know she is the boss. The enforcer, a gelding, makes sure everyone respects her and he too, is a little intimidated by her presence when she is torqued.

Men in ministry after years often drift into letting others know they are the dominant horse in the herd. The others are supposed to step back and allow space. The threat of action among the horses is usually the pinning of the ears and a slight positioning the body to land hooves with full impact on the body of the horse which violates the space of the "boss".

In the faith, there are time when a brother needs to be told he is not the boss of the herd. The trainer needs to be brought in to eliminate the bad character of a dangerous horse. The trainer may use methods us common people who ride would never use.

The trainer or another "old geezer" who understands the dominant, bad habit thing is brought in to bring the bad habit or dangerous tendency to a halt. The skill and boldness of the old guy is not often understood by the new dude learning to ride. "Don't be so tough," "don't be so aggressive," "How can you be so 'violent' to such a delicate creature?'" are often the comments.

The young guy misses the need for strong action and often mistakes training and holding accountable as aggressive, nasty, violent, unkind, uncaring. But, when riding in the mountains, bad habits and bad tendencies can bring about a nasty and sometimes fatal wreck. Read on!

When a brother who is on top of the Hill and begins to think he is the King of the Hill, someone needs to come along and knock him off the hill, as in, you're not the boss of the herd. All Scripture is given for reproof, rebuke, correction in righteousness so the brother will be fully equipped.

When we are in the public eye as believers what we say publicly is open to public scrutiny. The level of exposure for the message should be challenged at the level of communication. Personal fault needs to be confronted as in Matthew 18 and I Timothy 5, beginning in private.

The sharpening of metal as in "iron sharpens iron" needs to be done in the arena where dullness is noticed or in the case of public debate at the level of visibility. The naysayers often use this as a point of offense to the message of the Light. The older brother needs the strongness of the blunt warning to put him on notice that the blade is becoming dull and leaves ragged edges instead of slicing/cutting smoothly.

Probably the greatest mystery among believers which the world misses is the Bond of Love which we in the faith have with the others who do not dot the "i's" or "t's" as we do in our limited circle.

Going public in writing or in speech, probably will engender a public rebuke or comment. When done by one believer to another believer, the world sees this as a nasty character quality among believers. In reality it shows diversity as a mark of tolerant disagreement even in intense disagreement. When it comes to die for Christ, we as committed believers will all die together.

In an insipid communication style we are not prepared to run up against giants who maneuver and need to be called into account. These are giants in the faith and/or giants in the world.

So, here is thought to provoke some interaction: Aggressive, strong, articulate and sometimes lengthy rebuke needs to be done in the public forum, even at the expense of being misunderstood. Strong men need strong rebuke. What is "put on the table is fair game."

What do you think? - "get over yourself saying, 'what I feel.'" Unless you are speaking directly about your feelings as in emotions. Have fun with this. ""Grins""

Walking the Halls where the Giants Live

Recently I have taken a ministry in Bremerton, WA. I have history in this ministry. It was here where I was converted. It was here I found my bride. It was here I was mentored in the faith. It was here I was liberated from the darkness and translated into the Kingdom of His dear Son.

The giants are now using a walker or cane and appear to have lost their zeal or passion for Christ. It is as if the rooms are roaring with the noise of almost 2000 believers expressing their enthusiasm for the exalted Jesus Christ.

Nothing could be further from the Truth. These saints long for the outpouring of the Spirit and long for the exaltation of Jesus Christ in the lives of others in our community. It is easy to dismiss their passion or their longing as "living in the past." After two months of wandering about through these halls I am deeply humbles.

I am humbled at God's clear moving to take us into this arena. I often lament before God of my inability to Leave a Lasting Legacy. As an empty peanut butter jar with some fissures I can only ask that Christ fulfills the promise of John 15.

The giant slayers where men and women who walked each day in the confidence God would use their humble efforts. Some of them were like the men with faces of a lion. Some of them jumped into a pit on a snowy day and killed the lion - on a "lark." Some of them stood in the bean field with a brother and slung the sword until the sun when down and their hand froze to the sword. These were the non-descript pilgrims who walked faithfully into the Darkness with the Light.

In our energy as young men we were bold and often times brash. Their patience was the model for us. Live through the impetuousness, the exuberance, the rascally spirit and then capitalize on the passion to walk with Christ.

When you walk into the assembly of believers, look beyond the presentation of the worship without dismissing its impact on your life but look at the saint in the wheel chair, walking with a cane, dim eyesight, maybe a little crusty, or unable to live with outer enthusiasm and find the heart beat of a saint who lived on the mountains and slew the enemy - as in the one who slew 300 with a spear in one battle.

Walk the halls and listen to sounds of battle and the sounds of the wounded and the sounds of the victors as Christ walked the Halls of His own victory over Death and Hell and Sin. Get over the stuff which impresses you on the outward side and look for the power of God in the lives of the Lion Killers. Become one who stands in the bean field and slings the sword from morning to evening. Be the saint who jumps into a pit and slays a lion on a snowy day.

To do this, get beyond the glitz, sit with the Giant Killers, listen to their heart beat, then with Caleb ask for the hill country and go slay the giants!